Hide and Seek
by Claire6
Summary: Blaming Carter for his mother's death, a man goes to extreme lengths to get his revenge.
1. Default Chapter

Hide and Seek part 1

Category:Carter/angst

Spoilers:Season 6

Timeline:This story is set in Season 6 but Carter does not have a drug problem.

Disclaimer:ER and all its characters belong to NBC etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended.

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BANG!!

The thud of the ambulance bay doors smashing against the walls awoke Carter from his fitful sleep. Raising his head from the desk he leant on he peered over the wooden counter and look towards the main doors. Another trauma coming in he mused, however from the looks of it Deb and Kerry had it covered so he wearily reverted his attention back to the enormous pile of charts in front of him.

Shaking his head he scolded himself for falling asleep in the middle of his shift. Sure chart review was the monotonous part of a doctor's work, but it was never usually bad enough to send him to sleep. It must be the insomnia that was now a constant part of his life. He had been trying to get a good nights sleep ever since "that" night but he had not succeeded so far, what with the flashbacks and haunting dreams that tormented him constantly.

It was the same every night: the gleam of the knife, the pain in his back, and the horror and fear that radiated from Lucy's eyes. If only he has personally followed up on Lucy's presumption of schizophrenia. If only he had paid more attention and had got the necessary help. If only………… He could go on forever with the futile game of "if onlys." It would not do any good. It would not bring Lucy back.

Stretching his arms above his head he decided to get up and go for some fresh air in the ambulance bay, maybe that would refresh him enough so he could finish the charts.

As he slowly made his way out of the doors he comforted himself with the thought that his shift was nearly over. Soon he would be able to go home, crawl under his duvet and try to forget about the world for once.

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Charles Smith was not a happy man. He had spent all day at work busting his gut to try and earn a decent living, and what had had happened? He had got suspended, fucking suspended. And why? 'Cause his snotty nosed college grad boss had had the cheek to accuse him of not performing up to standard and of not pulling his weight. "Ha" he chuckled menacingly. "I soon showed him that I had weight alright, weight behind my fist." And with that he punched a nearby trash can, knocking if over for effect.

He laughed again as he made his way up his driveway, picturing the priceless look on the bastard's face when he had hit him. His laughter was soon cut short however when he noticed his mother's nurse, visibly pale and shaking.

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After about 15 minutes Carter reluctantly made his way back inside the ER and was quickly waved down by Lydia, who reported that there was an 86 year old lady suffering from terminal cancer coming in in respiratory distress.

He quickly got gowned and gloved and returned outside to meet the approaching ambulance.

A few moments later the ER staff hastily made their way into Trauma 1 and were about to start treating the lady, Mrs Smith, when the ambulance crew informed them that she was DNR, do not resuscitate. As this was the lady's request, the doctors and nurses made her as comfortable as possible and were saddened when she passed away a few minutes later.

"Has the family been informed?" Carter asked Lydia as they made their way out the 

Trauma room.

"The lady's nurse said she had a son and that she would inform him." Lydia replied. 

Carter was about to ask whether he was on his way when a middle aged man came 

running into the ER screaming.

"Where's my mother? Where is she?" He yelled towards Randi at the admit desk.

"Hey calm down ok. What's her name?" Randi asked the man.

"Smith. Barbara Smith. She has terminal cancer. I was told that she had been rushed 

here by ambulance, so do your job and find out where she is!" Smith demanded looking around the waiting area and desk in desperation.

Carter could see that Randi was getting angry and was about to say something she should not so he rushed over to try and resolve the situation.

"Hi. Mr Smith I presume? I'm Dr Carter. I treated your mother when she arrived. 

Unfortunately she was in respiratory distress……"

"Well is she alright now?" Mr Smith interrupted.

"Were you aware that your mother had a Do Not Resuscitate order?" Carter asked.

"No. What the hell is that?"

"Well basically this is a legal request by a terminally ill patient that if they stop 

breathing, they do not want to be resuscitated." 

"What's this got to do with my mother?" asked Smith angrily looking around for 

some sign of his mother.

"Your mother had a DNR order. It was her wish to be made as comfortable as 

possible and let nature take its course. I'm afraid your mother passed away a few 

minutes ago. I'm very sorry."

Mr Smith paused for a moment as he took the terrible news in.

"You're sorry?! I can't believe this! You watched my mother die, did nothing to help her and now you say you're sorry? This is supposed to be a hospital, you're supposed to help people, how the hell could you let her die?!!"

"Mr Smith it wasn't like that……" Carter tried to explain but was quickly cut off by Smith.

"It wasn't like that? Well tell me then what was it like? What did you do to help my Mum when she needed you?"

"We followed the requests of your mother and made her as comfortable as possible."

So basically you did nothing!" Smith yelled as he grabbed Carter by his collar and shoved him into the wall.

Having kept a watchful eye on the situation and witnessing the growing dispute Randi quickly called Malucci and Luka over for help. 

"You'll be sorry alright doc, you're gonna be very sorry indeed!"

Smith was about to throw a punch when the two male doctors came running up to help out their colleague. Looking around Smith realised he was outnumbered and let Carter go.

"My mother died because of you. You sat by and just watched her as she struggled for help. Does it feel good knowing you killed someone today doc? Hey?

I never even got the chance to say goodbye to my own mother because of you. I am 

so gonna make you pay for that. Watch your back Dr Carter. Watch your back!"

With that Smith stormed out the ER, vowing revenge. 


	2. Hide and Seek Part 2

Hide and Seek Part 2

Claire Leyland

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As Smith took another gulp of his beer, he observed his hands shaking with the earlier events of the day. Putting the drink back on the bar he ran his hands through his thinning hair in desperation.

His mind forced him to replay each scene in his head over and over. From the smug look on his boss's face to the doctor informing him about his mother. It still had not hit him that his mother had died. He half expected to go home and see her there in her chair asking how his day had been.

But now with each passing moment and the constant scenes repeated in his head he had no choice but to accept the truth…now he had nothing, he had lost everything, his job, his family, everything had been taken away from him.

He raised his head up and grabbed at his drink, tightening his hands around the cool glass. What was he supposed to do? For the past few years his life had revolved around taking care of his mother and going to work, his whole existence seemed pointless now.

Taking a large gulp from the glass he pictured the doctor at the hospital just calmly telling him that his mother was dead. How could he have just stood by? Hs mother was a fighter; she would have wanted everything to have been done to help her. No something was not right here, he was not being told everything. Had the doctor made a mistake and was covering up the truth? Had something happened at the ER that was being kept from him? He had to know, and there was only one person who could help him. 

Downing the rest of his beer Smith quickly stood up and threw a few bills onto the counter before wrapping his coat and scarf around him and heading outside.

He pictured again his mother pleading for help and that doctor just standing there doing nothing. He had promised her that he would look after her and now, going over the facts, he was sure that the doctor had taken her away from him. He had to find out the truth and then punish that doctor. He just hoped that the doctor was still at work.

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Back at the hospital Kerry Weaver quickly emerged from the staff lounge and took in the sight around her. The ER was surprisingly calm at the moment, most of the patients had been seen to and the waiting room chairs were eerily empty. Mark had already informed her that the ER had been slow for most of his shift, but she still walked over to the front desk to see what was what.

Looking at the board she observed that a trauma had recently come in but Luka was there and handling it in Trauma 2. As she sat down to check her messages she noticed Carter come over to the desk with his coat to sign out.

"Hi John. I heard you had a little excitement in the ER today." Mark had informed her of the heated argument in the hospital hallway.

"Yeah!" He chuckled as he quickly signed the chart in front of him. "I think 'a little' is a bit of an understatement."

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned. "It didn't aggravate any of your previous injuries did it?" 

"No I'm fine. I'm just gonna go home and sleep for a week." He quickly put the chart back in the drawer and picked up his coat. "Right I'm outta here, see you all tomorrow."

As he walked away from the desk Kerry watched him and noticed that he was limping slightly. Straightaway she knew he had been lying to her. He wasn't fine at all. She wished he would talk to her about things but nowadays he seemed so closed off. She would speak to him about it tomorrow she decided and let him get a good nights sleep tonight.

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Smith had been looking for the doctor everywhere on the hospital grounds but there was just no sight of him. He could feel his temper rising, it was getting so frustrating. But he wasn't about to give up. Not with the thought of revenge tingling on his fingertips.

He was about to try the corridor opposite him when his target suddenly entered his view.

"Bingo!" He muttered sinisterly and silently followed him.

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After exiting the elevator Carter quickly headed towards the hospital car park and had just reached his jeep when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned expecting a friend or colleague, but instead he found the threatening presence of Charles Smith.


	3. Hide and Seek Part 3

Oh my Lord! Thank you everyone for the great reviews and feedback!!

"Hide and Seek" Part 3

Claire Leyland

Disclaimer: ER and its characters belong to NBC, Warner Bros. etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended.

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"How's it going Doc?" Smith asked sarcastically, moving past Carter to lean against the jeep. "Had a nice day?"

"Mr Smith….uh…..what are you doing here? Carter nervously replied, taking a step 

back from the elder man.

"Well that's not very polite Dr Carter. You're supposed to ask me how I'm doing. Isn't that how it works?" Queried Smith closing the gap between them in one large step. "Well guess what; I'm not doing very well at the moment, not very well at all. You want to know why? You see my mother was rushed to hospital this morning with the reassurance that she was going there to receive help. However instead you know what happened? When she got there her so called doctor left her to die. So imagine the anguish of that woman's son when he comes face to face with that doctor. Do you think he's just going to forget what's happened and let bygones be bygones?"

"Mr Smith that's not what happened at all. We followed your mothers wishes." Carter tried to explain, his fear growing. He tightened his grip on his leather case and looked around frantically for help. The car park was as quiet as a graveyard with no one in sight.

"LIAR!! Yelled Smith, clenching his fists. "How do you know what my mother would have wanted? You didn't know her for forty two years. She was a fighter, not a quitter! I just can not believe she signed this order, what was it, do not resuscitate? 

She had fought for so long and now to just give up?" Leaning his tall body against the trunk of the jeep Smith shook his head in disbelief. 

"She never once spoke to me about it. I'm her son so I'm surely someone she would inform. Which makes me wonder how exactly you treated my mother."

Carter was about to respond when the bright glare of a cars headlights caught his attention. He observed with much relief that someone was entering the hospital car park, someone that might offer him some much needed assistance.

Smith saw Carter's attention waver from him and stood up to see what he was looking at. Squinting his eyes against the light he started to panic when he realised that someone in the oncoming car could notice them and walk over. If Carter made a scene then his plan would be ruined. How then could he discover what had happened and avenge what this man had done to his beloved mother? Taking desperate measures Smith hastily shoved his hand into his pocket, pulled out his gun and aimed it at Carter.

"One word from you and you're dead. Got it!"

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Peter Benton quickly pulled into the hospital's car park and anxiously searched for a parking space. The clock on the dashboard of the car was a constant reminder of how late he was; Romano was going to have a fit. What with the appalling traffic and the sudden onslaught of rain, it had taken him almost twice as long as usual to get here. 

Noticing a car leaving up ahead Benton quickly put his foot on the accelerator and speedily parked the car, past caring if it was straight in the lines or not.

He jumped out and made a mad dash for the elevator all the while glancing at his watch, willing the minute hand to move backwards. 

Whilst running down the walkway he noticed Carter out of the corner of his eye talking to some man in front of his jeep.

"Hey Carter how's it going?" He asked as he hastily ran past. Not waiting for an answer he jumped into the elevator and pressed the button for the surgical floor. As he watched the doors slowly slide shut he suddenly remembered that his surgical notes for Romano were sitting neatly on the back seat of his car, right where he had left them.

"Damn!" he cursed.

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As Carter watched Benton run into the elevator, he felt his hopes diminish with the surgeon's retreating figure. He had been desperate to scream out that yeah he was doing just great, standing here with a lunatic aiming a gun to his chest. But he knew that the moment he opened his mouth he would have been dead. 

Sadly reverting his gaze back to Smith, he could only hope that someone else would come past, but knowing that most hospital shifts had already begun he knew that wasn't very likely.

Smith quickly released the breath he had been holding. How close had that been! He had to get out of here now before anyone else turned up and ruined his plan.

"Right!" He whispered forcefully. "You and me are going on a little trip. Won't that be nice? Now put your hands together!"

Carter realised there was no chance of him getting the better of Smith, not whilst he was pointing a gun at him, and so wearily obeyed his orders. He watched sorrowfully as Smith pulled a long piece of rope out from underneath his coat and tie both his hands tightly together.

Smith grabbed his keys from his coat pocket and shoved Carter in the direction of his van, which was parked a few spaces over from Carter's jeep. He speedily opened the back doors and pushed Carter inside the empty space, locking him tight. After carefully checking that both doors were secure, Smith ran round to the driver's side of the van, climbed in and started the engine. He was about to reverse out of the space when he heard a loud voice behind him bellow:

  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

  
Smith angrily looked into his rear view mirror to see the furious face of one Dr Peter Benton glaring back at him.


	4. Hide and Seek Part 4

Hide and Seek Part 4

Claire Leyland

Rating:PG-13

Spoilers:Season 6, 

Disclaimer:ER and all it's characters belong to Warner Bros., NBC etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended.

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Benton stared at the back of the van in complete disbelief. He could not believe what he was witnessing; one minute he was frantically rushing towards his car for his notes, the next he was watching his friend being bound up and forced into the back of a van.

He hesitantly took a step towards the rear doors and tried to peer through the mud encrusted windows for some piece of evidence to convince him that he had made a mistake, that his colleague wasn't in the van but instead upstairs in the ER perfectly fine and in no danger whatsoever. However, he felt his hopes fade and his heartbeat quicken when after a moment he was slowly able to make out Carter, struggling to free himself from his restraints. Locking eyes with him Benton could see the horror and panic radiating from his friend's eyes.

Watching his former student in this position made his body flood with a variety of emotions. The first one to hit him was fear, overwhelming fear for his friend and what could happen to him if he didn't get him out of this van. The look in Carter's eyes had said it all. His friend needed him and Benton was damn sure he was going to be there for him.

This was not some random person whom he could just pass on to someone else to deal with the consequences, like he did in surgery. This was his friend.

His friend. 

Benton paused when that thought ran through his head, as he wasn't used to thinking it. He did not have a lot of people in his life close to him, nobody whom he could really class as "his" friend. Sure there were his sister Jackie, Reece and Cleo, but other than that there was no one. You could say that he did not like letting people in, he liked keeping them at a distance.

However with Carter………well what could you call it? Sure Carter bugged the hell out of him at times and other times he could gladly strangle him. Yet for as long as Benton could remember Carter had been there for him. Even though time and circumstance had separated them, with both doctors now employed in different areas of medicine, Benton still felt that Carter was continuously by his side. Then again isn't that the action of friends – to be there for one another?

"Yes it is." Benton muttered. He found his fear diminishing and his anger taking it over. He could feel it oozing through him and he latched onto it, making a lunge for the door handles.

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Carter had never been so relieved to see Dr Benton in all his life. Maybe this nightmare would finally be over and he would be able to go home……alive. He hastily scrambled up into a sitting position and tried desperately to free himself from the vice like grip of the rope. However to his dismay after slightly loosening the rope, it consequently held fast. *Smith's a dab hand with knots*, he mused, he just hoped he didn't get the chance to see firsthand what other skills he had. He wriggled his wrists again in an attempt to reduce the tension in the rope, but again it was unsuccessful. Carter felt like it was teasing him, giving him a little slack and therefore a little hope, and then binding tight.

The doctor slowly edged his way to the doors and vainly tried to get his hands around the handle but it was a futile effort. He frantically searched for any other way out of his personal prison, but sadly realised there was none, except going past Smith and somehow he didn't think that would work. Slamming his body against the metal, Carter cursed widely at his misfortune. He dejectedly looked up and out at Dr Benton: so near yet so far. All it was a couple of centimetres to safety, if that, yet there was nothing he was able do to reach it. Gradually lowering himself down against the van side, all Carter could do was look out of the windows in despair.

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Benton tried hopelessly to open the doors even though he knew they had been sealed shut. He was foolishly hoping that his strength alone would be enough to overpower the lock, but luck just wasn't on his side this time.

He banged angrily on the door in an endeavour to get Carter's attention. When he had it he yelled at his colleague in reassurance.

"Carter don't worry ok man, I'm gonna get you out of here!" Benton felt his chest tighten when he saw the look of optimism and relief in Carter's eyes, and only hoped he wasn't making false promises.

A glance over Carter's head confirmed his suspicions when he saw Smith evilly smile at him from the driver's seat and wave his index finger, as if to say 'I wouldn't count on it!"

Everything afterwards seemed to happen in slow motion. Benton saw Smith's hand quickly move to the gear stick and shift it into reverse. The surgeon shot his head up in fearful understanding as Smith suddenly started reversing the van back towards him with only one intention in mind.

Without a moment to spare Benton leapt out of the way of the oncoming vehicle straight over the neighbouring car's hood and landing hard on the ground.

He could only watch with a deep sense of terror as the van speedily made it's way out of the car park with his only friend being held captive in the back. 

On that thought Benton made a mad dash for his car. Struggling to find his keys, he tried to remember where he had put them last. With precious moments slipping away Benton frantically shoved his hands into every pocket and gasped with relief when he finally felt one of them touch metal.

With shaking hands he quickly tried to fit the car key into the lock but found he just couldn't steady himself. The sweat was pouring off of him and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"C'mon man calm yourself down, this isn't going to do Carter any good."

An image of Carter lying helpless in the van flashed before his eyes. It reminded him of that night when Carter had laid on a gurney in front of him, desperately needing his help. Benton had promised Carter that he would get him through that night and he had succeeded. Now Carter needed him to be there for him again, and without a doubt there he would be.

He jammed the key into the lock with a fierce determination, opened the car door and jumped in. Gunning the engine, Benton shoved his foot down on the accelerator, hoping he would be able to catch the van up in time. His friend's life depended on it. 


	5. Hide and Seek Part 5

Hide and Seek

Part 5

Claire Leyland

Rating:PG-13

Spoilers:Series 5/6/7

Thanks to everyone for their continued support!!!

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As Peter Benton swiftly steered his car out of the hospital car park, he frantically searched around in all directions for any sign of Smith's van. He knew he could not have been more than a couple of minutes at most behind Smith so he could not have got that far. After a few miles he took a left turn at the lights and felt himself tense up when he witnessed the van up ahead.

By now the rain was pouring down at an incredible rate causing Benton to grip the steering wheel even more tightly than he had been doing. It was not helping that Jackie's Aretha Franklin tape was pounding into his eardrums and he reminded himself never to let his sister borrow his car again. In one fluid motion he slammed his fist into the radio, quickly silencing the racket, however increasing the burning pain in his right shoulder. The surgeon did not know what injuries he might have sustained from his tumble and he did not care. As long as he could walk and drive that was enough for him. The factor of his pain was tolerable; the image of Carter's pain and suffering was not.

After moving his shoulder around, testing to see his mobility, the surgeon grabbed one of the main causes of his pain from the radio and threw the tape out the window, only feeling a twinge of guilt towards the cyclist he hit with it. The rider's suffering could not have been worst than his. 

He quickly switched his wipers onto high speed uselessly hoping that the bad weather would ease off. Trying to keep track of a dark van in poor visibility would not be easy, but that was not going to impede Benton.

As he wiped the sweat from his forehead he noticed out of the corner of his eye his mobile phone cast unceremoniously in the compartment next to the gear stick. Benton cursed himself for not noticing it sooner. With one hand on the wheel he gleefully swiped it up and dialled 911 for the Police. *Any minute now there will be cops all over Smith! * He chuckled. After a moment however his smiled faded when he heard the familiar beeps of a flat battery. He wildly threw the contraption over his shoulder feeling some satisfaction when he heard it smash hard against the plastic next to the rear window. 

He remembered now that he had been talking to Cleo last night on the way home from work and kicked himself for not charging his phone when he arrived at his house.

After a few moments Benton suddenly realised that he was the only person aware of the situation that Carter and himself were in and he had no way of changing that unless he stopped the car, but that was not really an option as he would lose sight of Smith. He only hoped that Romano would have now raised the alarm at the hospital when he realised that Benton had not arrived for work, but then again he grimly mused the arrogant surgeon would probably have just made some sort of sarcastic comment and fired him all over again. 

He wondered if Carter's family would notice that he had not arrived home from work yet and then sorrowfully laughed at the absurdity of that thought. With Carter's family's track record it would probably be weeks before they noticed he was missing. Keeping that thought in mind Benton made a promise to himself that if he and Carter were to get through this unscathed the surgeon would make more time in his life for his former student. The hospital staff was probably the only real type of "family" that Carter had and Benton being part of that staff meant that Carter and himself were, on some levels, family too. Benton was going to changes things if life returned to some sort of normalcy. No one should lead the lonely and solitary life that Carter did because of the type of family he was born into.

The surgeon stepped up the pressure on the accelerator desperately trying to think of another plan before he reached his target.

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Carter was feeling increasing uneasy as he sat unmoving in the back of the van. He had repeatedly tried to talk to Smith in the vain attempt that he could get him to open up and share how he was feeling about his mother. Carter had hoped that once Smith was talking he could convince him to stop what he was doing and turn the van around. However Smith had just completely blanked him and kept his dark eyes on the road in front of him. Carter did not want to force the point too much as he had a direct view of Smith's gun lying flat on the dashboard.

As the young doctor leaned dejectedly against the side panel he caught brief images and muffled sounds from the outside. He swallowed hard as he painfully realised that they were travelling on the highway bordering the river, the highway that took you directly out of the city. This made Carter's stomach churn as he apprehended that the chances of someone seeing the situation that he was in would be more remote once they had left the city. At least while they were in Chicago there was a minute chance that someone would stumble across them, but once they were outside then…….

Carter lowered his head despondently and closed his eyes. He could feel his hope evaporating and despair replacing it instead. It was like a poison oozing through him destroying his optimism.

He wondered how Dr Benton was and mentally apologised to him for getting him involved. He only hoped that he was all right. Smith had reversed the van extremely quickly making it difficult for his friend to get out of the way. If anything had happened Carter knew that he would never forgive himself. He could not cope with another death on his hands; they were blood red enough already. First Dennis then Lucy, he was barely handling his role in their deaths, if anything had happened to his mentor Carter knew that he would not be able to cope. *Hell* he chuckled grimly *I'm not coping now. *

A sudden bang shook Carter from his thoughts. The back of the van abruptly started swerving from side to side throwing Carter painfully hard into the opposite side of the van. With his hands behind his body instead of by his side he had nothing to break his fall and the pain of his shoulder and chest colliding with the panel was indescribable. Carter tried to lift himself into some sort of sitting position to see what was going on but gravity was not complying with him. His balance was precarious at the best of times, but with his hands tied firmly behind his back there was little possibility that he would be able to maintain an upright position.

He struggled to raise his head, desperately trying to ignore the fresh bouts of pain radiating from his injuries. After a moment he was slowly able to make out Smith fighting a losing battle with the steering wheel to keep the van on the road. The poor weather meant the vans' tyres had little grip on the road already, but with the added danger of a puncture Carter knew the severity of the situation. He heard a string of profanities being yelled out by his captor from the front compartment and comprehended that they were in serious trouble. The vans back wheels again skidded to the right but this time the momentum caused the vehicle to smash through the neighbouring safety barrier and plunge down the embankment in the direction of the river. As Smith venomously slammed on the brakes to prevent the van from its deadly course Carter felt himself being flung hard against the back of the driver's seat. The doctor shook his head in a pitiful attempt to get rid of his dizziness and, as blood

started to trickle down his forehead, he could only watch and pray as he witnessed the van failing to stop in time and the river swallowing them up whole.

  



	6. Hide and Seek Part 6

Hide and Seek

Part 6

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Season 6

Disclaimer: ER and all its characters belong to Warner Bros., NBC etc and no

infringement of their copyright is intended.

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When the van hit the water Carter again felt himself being flung hard against the metal backing of the van's seats and cursed loudly as his injured side started to throb twice as much. He didn't know which was worse, the pain from his shoulder and chest or the pain radiating from his previous back injury; they both seemed to be fighting for his attention.

As the doctor slowly eased himself upwards he got his first horrifying glimpse of the water gushing in from underneath the dashboard. The speed with which it was flooding in terrified him and he helplessly struggled hard against his bonds in response.

Out of the corner of his eye Carter vaguely observed Smith fighting to open his door, powerfully slamming his body into it time and time again until it finally gave in and opened. He could only watch enviously at the ease with which his captor was able to escape, and only wished it could be that simple for him.

The doctor grimly smiled as he witnessed the terrible situation he was ironically now in: he had got what he wanted – Smith had finally left him alone and in every sense of the word as there was no-one to hear or help him. 

He somehow struggled forward and positioned his body next to the side of the seat. The only way out available to him was Smith's exit route as the van's side and back doors were locked tight.

After some considerable wriggling the doctor was able to force his right leg through the space between the seats and tried desperately to stretch the rest of his body through as well. He noticed that the pain in his chest had begun to increase but he tried hard to ignore it, focusing on getting out of the damn van instead. He didn't have time to worry about what injuries he had sustained because the icy water was pouring in at a considerable rate and was beginning to creep up his legs and soak through his thin layer of clothing.

The young doctor slowly edged himself through, fighting to overcome the sudden onset of shivering. As he took deep breaths to curb his pain he noticed that he could see his breath in front of him and it increased his fear; he needed to get out of the van before hypothermia prevented him from doing so. However as he leaned forward, his left foot got caught on something underneath the seat, and after a moment he was horrified to realise that it was stuck fast.

Carter attempted to pull his leg out but felt immense dismay when it wouldn't budge. He couldn't even see what was trapping him, as the darkness had become as impenetrable as the silence. The water was now climbing past his neck and the doctor started to flail his body round helplessly as panic took over. He could feel a vague sense of numbness starting to climb up from his legs and the edge of his vision was beginning to get a little woozy.

*I'm dead….Oh God I'm dead……..This is it…….I don't want to die!*

He opened his mouth to cry out but before he had any chance the freezing water gushed over his head, silencing his screams.

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On the busy highway Peter Benton again changed lanes in a frantic attempt to locate the blue van. He could not understand it; one minute it was a few cars in front of him rounding a corner and then the next minute it had vanished. The surgeon hit the steering wheel in frustration as he glanced through his side window. It was baffling; there were no exit points, no service stations, nothing. There was absolutely nowhere they could have gone.

Benton carefully edged his car to the side of his lane and craned his neck hard to the left in an attempt to see round the lorry in front of him, hoping against hope that the van was in front of it and that was the only reason why he couldn't see it. He was scared now, utterly scared. He was Carter's only way out of this horrifying situation and if he blew it then quite possibly his only friend would die. He had seen the look on the guy's face when he had tackled Carter in the car park and knew that the man had lost it. For some reason the guy had gone over the edge and wanted to hurt Carter. Now the surgeon was involved too and the pressure on him was astronomical. He wasn't sure if he was more scared of Carter's situation or the fact that his friend's life was in his hands.

"Where the hell are you man?" Benton muttered as he stared at the empty lane in front of the lorry. However as he switched his car back to the far lane the truth suddenly hit him hard. Benton felt his body go cold when his searching eyes suddenly stopped on the twisted remains of what was once a section of the safety barrier; a barrier separating the road from the river.

"Oh God no, please no!"

The surgeon frantically pulled the car up on the side of the road, angrily ignoring the irate blast of horns from the drivers speeding past him. He didn't care what they thought of him; his mind was firmly focused on only one thing.

He ran as fast as he could to the edge of the embankment and was annoyed when he saw that he would have make his way down gingerly at a pace not suited to an adrenaline pumped surgeon.

Once at the bottom though he wildly started searching for any signs of his friend. There were deep tire tracks right up to the edge of the river and Benton swallowed hard not wanting to believe the truth in front of him. He furiously yelled out Carter's name over and over but all that greeted him was a deadly silence. 

"C'mon man don't do this to me!!"

As Benton desperately paced along the riverbank he could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his breath was coming out much too rapidly. He knew that if the van had gone under Carter would not have much time, especially with the freezing cold temperature of the water.

Realising what he had to do he raced back to his car and grabbed his torch and penknife from the glove compartment, putting them securely in his trouser pocket. The surgeon then ran back to the river and, after removing his coat and shoes, started to wade in, forcing himself to ignore the coldness seeping through his clothes. When he reached the spot where he thought the van had gone down he switched on his torch, took three deep breaths and then dived under water, mentally telling his friend to hang on.

Although the water was quite murky the torch greatly improved his range of vision. As he swept it from side to side. Benton furiously searched in any direction he could for the van and, after a few minutes, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief when he spotted the front section a few metres ahead of him. He quickly swam back to the surface, took another deep breath and then dived back down again to the van.

The older doctor felt along the side panel until he reached the driver's door and felt little surprise when he found it open. He didn't care where Carter's captor had gone he just wanted to get his friend out. As he headed inside and peered around to the rear section he was absolutely stunned to see Carter's lifeless form at the head of the van and almost dropped his torch. He could feel his body go numb as he took in the horrible sight of his friend. 

*Oh God no!* The surgeon mentally screamed, trying to force his limbs out of their paralysis.

After a moments hesitation he hastily grabbed his former student's shirt and tried to pull him out, however he was enraged to find that Carter's leg seemed to be stuck in some way underneath the driver's seat. 

Benton quickly bent down and grabbed Carter's foot, twisting it to the right to free it from the entangled seatbelt. He then grabbed Carter again and pulled him out. The surgeon was running out of oxygen fast and was desperate to take a long, cool breath of air. He folded his arm around his friend's neck and swiftly swam back to the surface where he forced air into his begging lungs. He then frantically swam to shore pulling Carter with him.

When the two doctors reached the shoreline Benton immediately cut the rope from around his former student's hands with his penknife and then checked his friend's prone form, feeling relief when he found a very faint pulse.

*He's alive, he's gonna be ok. *

Panic took him over however when he discovered that his friend wasn't breathing.

"Oh no, you're not gonna to do this to me man!"

Benton positioned Carter on his side so that his tongue fell forward and any water was drained from his mouth. His airway seemed to be clear so the surgeon carefully placed his friend onto his back and started mouth to mouth. As he gave Carter breath after shuddering breath he willed life into his friend's cold still body.

*You are not gonna die on me man, do you hear me? You are not gonna die!!*

As the surgeon continued to breathe for his friend he heard sirens approaching from the highway and was ecstatic to see the familiar form of a policeman come running down the embankment towards him. He hadn't even thought about how he was going to contact the emergency services. His whole body had just screamed to save his friend.

"Hey are you ok? We got a report of a……………oh man……..I'll radio for an ambulance stat." 

The cop took another worried glance at Carter and then hastily turned back to the embankment.

"Hurry! He doesn't have much time!" Benton yelled as the man fleeted back to his patrol car.

As the surgeon repeatedly forced air into his former student's lungs, he felt so much anguish in his chest. Why do bad things always happen to good people? Carter was one of the best and yet in the space of a year his life had been put into jeopardy twice. 

*And I've almost lost my friend twice*

A flood of emotions engulfed Benton as he thought of his friend dying, and he latched onto the most familiar of them: anger. If he ever laid eyes on that bastard who did this to Carter he would seriously make him pay for what he had done. It wasn't right that Carter was lying here injured, possibly dying while his tormentor was running free. 

A sudden fit of coughing brought Benton back to reality and he sighed with relief when he saw his friend spluttering up the remains of the water that he had swallowed.

The surgeon placed his hand on Carter's shoulder trying to comfort him.

"Hey man how you doing? It's gonna be ok, you hear me? You're safe now, no one's gonna hurt you."

Carter slowly opened his eyes and, after shaking his head to try and get rid of his wooziness, was surprised to find himself on the riverbank with an extremely happy looking Dr Benton hovering over him.

"Arrre… you acc..tttua..lly sssss….miling DDDr Ben….ton?!" He managed to stutter out.

"Yeah well don't get used to it Carter, and don't you tell anyone about it either, alright?" The surgeon muttered, unsuccessfully trying to turn his relieved smile into his trademark frown.

Carter managed a faint grimace. "I'm sssssoooooo…. colddddd." He slurred as he attempted to wrap his arms around himself in an effort to get warm. 

"Carter man stay still ok, I'll get my coat." Benton quickly ran and picked up his coat from where he had left it earlier. He hastily raced back to his friend's side and wrapped the article of clothing around him tightly in an effort to keep his friend warm and prevent him from moving.

"Carter stop shifting around ok, your core temperature is extremely low and muscular activity will only pump cold peripheral blood into your central circulation making it even lower, now stop the hell wriggling or I'll tie you back up myself!"

Seeing the look on his mentor's face made Carter freeze even more than the cold. One never disobeyed Peter Benton. 

"Are you hurt anywhere Carter? Any pain at all?"

"NNNah……fffine."

"Don't lie to me man, that head injury alone must sting a bit."

"FFFeeeel …..fffffine."

"Carter……."

But before Benton could check his friend over the sound of ambulance sirens distracted him and he looked up to see two paramedics unloading a backboard and blankets and then start rushing down the embankment with them to meet the pair.

The surgeon stood up and introduced himself and his patient and rattled off Carter's condition.

"I'm Doctor Benton, this is Dr Carter. He was underwater for about five minutes, loss of consciousness and respiration. I started mouth to mouth and he responded after about another five minutes. He hadn't complained of any pain or injuries however I think that is because he is hypothermic. He does appear to have sustained a head injury though."

The surgeon took his coat off Carter and replaced it with the thicker blankets. He then wrapped his coat firmly around his own cold body.

"Thank you Dr Benton, we've got it from here. Are you ok?" The paramedic queried as they carefully loaded Carter onto the backboard and began slowly making their way up the embankment.

Benton looked at the man for a moment baffled before answering.

"Yeah I'm fine. Look you need to stabilise his core temperature and prevent further heat loss!" Benton yelled at them gruffly, not wanting to give full control over to the paramedics. After all this was "his" friend.

"Don't worry, he's in good hands."

"He will be if I stay with him." The surgeon glared at the paramedic as they finally reached the ambulance. He quickly jumped into the back and help them load Carter in. 

"Fine." The younger man wearily replied as he closed the doors. It had been along night and he wasn't up to arguing. He made sure Carter was secure then warned his friend to take it easy driving.

"No sudden jolts ok?"

--------------------------------------------------

As Benton watched the paramedic start to administer an I.V and attach a pulse ox clip to Carter's finger, he clasped his hands together in order to stop them shaking. Worry was coursing through him as he took in Carter's extremely pale features. He knew from his own experience that the water had been practically freezing, and with Carter's thin layer of clothing and whatever injuries he had sustained (his friend's chest alone looked sore and tender), they needed to have been at hospital ten minutes ago.

The surgeon angrily viewed the heart monitor above his friend's head and sighed when he took in the low heart rate and blood pressure. He reached down and grasped Carter's hand into his own, wincing slightly at how cold it was.

"Carter man you hang on, do you hear me? Don't give up, you stay with me ok?!"

He was about to go on when he suddenly felt the ambulance slam forward and fearfully saw Carter's gurney shudder hard from the movement.

The paramedic sitting next to him angrily yelled at the front compartment and, as the driver responded with something about an idiot driver and a Porsche, Benton observed the heart monitor suddenly start to beep, and not in a good way.


	7. Hide and Seek Part 7

"Hide and Seek"

Part 7

Disclaimer: ER and all it's characters belong to NBC etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended.

Thank you everyone for your support and kind words of encouragement.

-------------------------------------

The heart monitor's continued noise radiated into Benton's ears as he anxiously pressing his fingers against Carter's cool neck, examining for a pulse. The younger doctor was utterly unresponsive to all of Benton's actions and it was obvious that he had slipped into unconsciousness while they had been taking his vitals.

"I don't understand. He's got a pulse, albeit weak and thready, so why is the monitor reading asytole?" The surgeon demanded to the neighbouring paramedic, Mike.

The younger medic quickly assessed Carter and wandered his eyes over the doctor's body. Looking down to Carter's hand he noticed with relief that the pulse ox clip had slipped off Carter's finger with the recent jolt.

"It's okay." He explained to Benton. "The clip came off, that's all." He quickly reattached it to Carter's finger and watched the flat line on the monitor return to the familiar sight of a pulse. 

The surgeon deeply exhaled in response and lowered his head, releasing the breath he had been holding. 

"How's his BP?" 

"Low. 100 over 70."

Benton grabbed the stethoscope from around the paramedic's neck in one fluid motion and pressed it to Carter's bruised chest, listening to his ragged breathing.

"His breathing is shallow on the right." Benton explained to no one in particular. He pressed his hands gently on the right hand side of his friend's chest and swallowed hard looking at the vividly coloured bruises that were now starting to appear. They hadn't been as obvious to him when he had examined his friend's chest earlier next to the lake.

"I think he has some broken ribs as well. One of them might have punctured his lung. That's why his breathing is so laboured."

"Don't worry. We will be at County shortly and they will take good care of him." Mike assured him.

Benton just glared at the paramedic for a moment then closed his eyes tiredly and pulled his long coat a little tighter. The icy temperature had also affected him and he was trying hard to keep his shivering at bay. He leant slowly back and quietly listened to the rain as it hammered at the roof of the ambulance in a continuous torrent. Benton also heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance and wondered tiredly if the bad weather was ever going to give up.

Wrapping his arms around his chilled body he briefly opened his eyes to take another worried glance at Carter. After observing that his friend was still stable and being taken care of well by Mike he wearily closed them again, hoping he was mistaken about his diagnosis of his former student. From the deep colouring of his bruises it looked liked his chest had taken a serious battering. Benton prayed that his friend was not suffering from internal bleeding. 

"What the hell………!!!" 

A panicked cry from the front of the ambulance forced Bentons eyes open in surprise.

"What's the problem Steve?" Mike asked his colleague with fearful bewilderment.

"This maniac with the Porsche is back. He keeps swerving in front of us. What the hell is he playing at?" The paramedic driving grappled with the steering wheel as the ambulance skidded slightly to the right. He chewed his lip in concentration as he tried to avoid the car in front, keep in his lane, and make sure that they were not jolted around to much. After a moment's pause he was able to return the vehicle to the middle of the lane again. 

Benton tried to lean forward and crane his neck to get a look out of the windscreen but the ambulance braked suddenly forcing him back into his seat.

"Damn! What's his problem! It's almost like he's trying to run us off the road!"

The awful truth suddenly hit Benton hard and his stomach lurched in response. The surgeon grimly realised just where exactly Carter's captor had vanished to when he had escaped from the submerged van. He must have car jacked a passing car somehow and caught up with the ambulance.

Benton quickly grabbed the door separating the ambulance compartments and turned slightly to face the driver. He could see the man struggling with the wheel and knew this bad weather was not helping him.

"We have to radio the hospital or your base and let them know the situation. The Police need to be here now!" The surgeon's tone conveyed the seriousness of the situation and the paramedic nodded wide eyed to let him know he understood. 

Benton carefully watched as the driver grabbed the radio and relayed their position and asked for assistance immediately.

Through the rain battered windows Benton searched frantically for any sign of the Porsche. Even on the highest setting the windscreen wipers were practically useless against the assault of the rain. It lashed at the glass with a ferocious force, and Benton could feel the ambulance skid slightly with the slickness of the road.

He leaned forward over the passenger seat and rubbed the sleeve of his coat against the mist forming on the passenger window. Peering through the hole he had made Benton tried to use the side mirror to see if the they were being tailed but it was pointless as all he could see was darkness.

Scowling Benton returned his gaze to the driver. "Did you see where the car went?"

"Are you kidding me! I'm having a hard enough time trying to see the road in front of me."

"Dr Benton." The surgeon quickly turned his attention back towards the other paramedic and locked him in a stony gaze.

"What?!" The tension in the ambulance was palpable and the surgeon struggled to remain calm. Hope was alternating with panic inside of him and he was having a hard time keeping his cool. He had no idea what the maniac in the car had planned but whatever it was Benton knew it could not be good. It was obvious he felt ill will towards Carter and for what reason he had no idea. He just had to keep his head and try and get Carter to hospital as quick as he could for his friend's sake.

Benton paused for a moment then repeated his question with a lot more composure. 

"What?"

The medic gestured to Carter as he quickly updated the elder doctor on his friend's deteriorating condition.

"He's getting worse. He has depressed vital signs – his BPs falling as are his resps."

Benton hastily turned to his right to view the heart monitor and wordlessly took in Carter's vitals. His eyes raced back towards the paramedic and they bespoke of the horror of the situation. 

"Damn it. He's going into v-fib. Bag him now!"

As Benton raced to start chest compressions he heard the screeching of rubber on tarmac and the sickening thud as Smith finally succeeded and the ambulance was forced off the road. 


	8. Hide and Seek Part 8

Hide and Seek Part 8

Disclaimer:ER and all it's characters belong to NBC etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended

Except for the continuous torrent of rain falling all was silent in the dimly lit area where the ambulance lay still. After spinning almost an entire circle around it had finally come to a heart wrenching stop at the side of the empty highway. There were deep gashes in the mud where tyres had skidded, trying desperately to grip onto anything in their path. 

A lone figure quietly approached the vehicle, treading carefully so not to slip and lose his advantage. He crept up to the driver's door and paused for a moment placing his hand on the cool slick metal of the ambulance. The man cocked his head to the right slightly and strained his ears in an attempt to discover if anything moved from within 

the vehicle.

Satisfied at the quietness he stepped closer to the driver's door and peered through the misty window. A broad smile crept upon his features as he took in the sight of the driver slumped over the steering wheel. Not an ounce of sympathy was evident in his dark orbs and his gaze wandered to the rear of the ambulance without another thought to the driver. 

The figure made his way slowly round to the back of the vehicle, taking small steps due to the slippiness of the ground below his feet. A sudden crack of lightening illuminated the grass in front of him and he side stepped a large puddle that had remained unnoticed until the flash. 

--------------------------------------------------

Inside the vehicle all was not as quiet as Smith had assumed as Benton slowly roused from unconsciousness. With a slightly blurred vision the surgeon wearily looked up into the concerned face of Mike and it took him a moment to realise that the paramedic was urgently slapping his face.

"I'm awake okay, I'm awake. You can quit hitting me now." The surgeon grumbled, shaking his head. He rubbed at tired eyes trying to dispel the disorientation. 

"Thank God. How do you feel? Any dizziness, nausea? Can you focus on my finger and follow it?" The younger man quizzed, holding his index finger up in front of Benton's face.

"I'm fine. How's Carter doing?" Benton asked, shoving Mike's hand away from his face and hastily struggling up. He pushed Mike out of his way and gazed down concerned at his friend. The last thing he remembered was frantically performing chest compressions on Carter then slamming his head on the side of the gurney due to the momentum of the ambulance. After that everything was blank. 

"He's ok for now. I got his rhythm back but his vitals are still low."

"How's the driver?"

"It's hard to tell. He's unconscious but he has a steady pulse. Unfortunately the radio was damaged in the crash so I couldn't get in touch with anyone. If you want to stay with your friend I can get up front and take over the driving. We really need to get out of here."

"Yeah sure, lets get going."

Mike made a move towards the front compartment then stopped suddenly, fear spreading over his pale face. Benton didn't like the way he was staring terrified at the driver's window. 

"What wrong?"

"Shh. There's someone approaching us. He looks like a security guard or a cop but I get the distinct feeling he's not coming to help." He whispered.

Both men froze like statues, holding onto to their breath tightly. Neither one moved or spoke as Mike stared transfixed at the dark image through the window. Benton nervously watched the paramedic for any clue as to what was happening whilst also trying to stop the pounding in his chest. It could be a policeman coming to help for all he knew but the surgeon had a gut instinct that wasn't the case. He had a sneaking suspicion that the person outside hadn't come to help them. Benton kept a close eye on Mike and after few heart pounding moments the paramedic released his breath.

"I think he's going round the back." Mike whispered wide eyed.

Benton nodded in response and slid out of the seat quietly and made his way slowly to the back of the door. 

----------------------------------------------------------

Charles Smith finally arrived at the back door and reached his grasping hand out to grab the wet door handle. He was sure the doctor was in the back of the ambulance and his patience was running very thin. He was desperate for the truth about his mother and it seemed fate kept intervening in him getting it. 

However at the exact moment that Smith opened the door, Benton lunged his foot out, and with all his remaining strength slammed his foot into the door. The force caused the door to swing out with a ferocious momentum and slam into the figure outside, sending him flying backwards onto the wet grass. Smith landed hard in a heap on the ground, motionless.

Observing that the man was out cold Benton turned and yelled at Mike to start the ambulance and the paramedic, after carefully moving the driver to the passenger seat, frantically did so, pushing hard down the accelerator. But it was a futile effort as the mud refused to release them and all the tyres could do was spin uselessly in their fixed spot.

"It's not use! We're stuck fast!" Benton screamed at the paramedic. "Try harder!"

The paramedic gave a laugh that held very little humour. "If I try any harder my foot will go through the floor! Get out and try pushing."

"Ok." Benton glanced back worried at his friend then lowered his voice. "Don't worry Carter, I'll be right back ok? I'm not leaving you. I'll have you at that hospital in no time."

With that the surgeon raced outside and positioned his shoulder against the wet metal.

"Go!"

As Benton used all his strength to try and dislodge the ambulance he could hear the engine straining to break free, but there just wasn't enough grip to get them loose.

The surgeon banged his fist against the side of the vehicle in anger before returning inside the vehicle, dripping wet.

Checking on his friend again, he saw that Carter's vitals remained the same. He tucked the blanket a little tighter around his friend's cool body before heading up front to speak with Mike.

"It's no use, there just isn't enough grip to get us free." The paramedic said despondently, switching off the engine.

Glancing downwards inspiration suddenly hit Benton hard and he cursed himself for being so mentally slow. He quickly bent down to the floor and peered underneath the dashboard then around the seats, shifting fallen items out of the way in his hunt.

"What are you looking for?" Mike asked confused.

"Do you have foot mats in ambulances?"

"No, why?"

"Damn it. They would be perfect for helping the tyres grip."

Benton heaved himself up and leaned sombrely against the passenger seat. He glanced out the windscreen into the night trying to come up with a plan, any plan, to get them out of there. He had to get Carter to County fast before his vitals dropped again. His eyes slowly wandered for anything that could help them and came to rest on the outline of a car parked on the edge of the highway.

Without saying a word the surgeon raced out of the ambulance and scrambled towards the smaller vehicle, praying that it would have what they so desperately needed. He knew full well that there was not enough room for them all to fit in the Porsche but it was bound to have foot mats. If the worst came to the worst they could always use the second vehicle to try and pull the ambulance free. What mattered was there were now more options. 

Upon opening the car door relief flooded through Benton's body, as his assumption was proven correct and his hands grabbed the mats. Racing back to the ambulance he made sure that Smith was still lying motionless on the ground before placing the mats in front of the ambulance's wheels. He then returned to Mike and told him to start the engine again. The paramedic complied and after a few moments the ambulance began to slowly make its way back to the highway.

"It's working!" The paramedic yelled in delight.

Benton returned the smile and jumped back into the vehicle and closed the back doors behind him. He returned to his friend's side and sunk into the neighbouring chair with a deep sigh, praying that they would make it to County shortly.

As the vehicle resumed it's urgent course on the highway, lightening once again illuminated the terrain where the ambulance had stood. If the passengers of the ambulance had glanced back they would have seen in this bright flash of light the outline of a figure climbing into the Porsche.


	9. Hide and Seek Part 9

Hi Everyone!

I am soooooooo sorry for the HUGE delay in chapters, I feel really, really bad. Being in my final year at university I have just been inundated with work, work, and even more work and there has not been chance for me to sit down and write.

I want to thank everyone who has e-mailed me asking about the story. It was really great of you guys to take the time to write. I am hoping that the story should be back on track now as long as the work doesn't pile up again!

Anyway thanks again and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Claire

Hide and Seek Part 9

Disclaimer: ER and all it's characters belong to NBC etc and no infringement of their copyright is intended.

As the battered ambulance made its way down the interstate towards downtown Chicago, Benton attended to Carter again, hoping that the time away from his friend had not had any repercussions. The surgeon gently placed his hand against Carter's forehead noticing that the younger doctor's temperature had barely risen. A glance at the overhead monitor told him his BP was holding steady for the time being although it had not increased despite the extra fluids that they had given him. Benton was also disheartened to discover that Carter's resps had increased and that his breathing was becoming more laboured. 

He had been hoping against hope that Carter would have regained consciousness by now, praying that the cut on his friend's forehead was exactly that, and that the only reason Carter was unconsciousness was because of his low body temperature. However no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the doctor inside of him was frantically running through all the medical conditions that his friend could be suffering from. And he hated it. He hated not knowing for certain what was wrong with his friend and not being able to fix it. Sure he could make logical assumptions but until there were at the hospital with the proper equipment at their disposal, they could only try to stabilise Carter the best they could.

It was not something he was used to – the waiting game. In his career it was not something they were taught. You learnt to jump in, assess the patient, and then take them to surgery if necessary. You were in control. Something the surgeon felt was lacking in this situation. He certainly didn't feel in control right now. What he felt was sheer helplessness, just sitting there watching Carter fight for his life. He was not familiar with just standing by, waiting. 

Lowering his head, the surgeon thought back to when Carter was injured in February. He had jumped right in without a moment to lose. Took control. Took him to surgery and his friend had trusted him. He squeezed his eyes shut at the memory.

_I'm glad it's you._

So trusting. Why did Carter place so much trust and admiration in him? He certainly did not deserve it. Had he helped Carter tonight? No. When Carter obviously needed his help tonight what did he do? He walked straight passed him without a care in the world. He couldn't even spare a glance in his direction to see if he was ok. If only he had stopped to get an answer to his question. He would have clearly seen the terror etched on his friend's face. _Hey Carter how's it going?_ The surgeon cursed himself for being so blind. Why the hell didn't he stop? What kind of friend was he?

The events of February 14th ran through his head again_. I'm getting you through this_

Sure he and Anspaugh had got Carter through surgery but what happened after that? How many times had he seen the younger doctor at work? He couldn't even remember the last time he actually had spoken to Carter without it being a medical matter. 

When it came down to it Benton had let Carter down…again. He could twist the facts anyway he wanted to – his overloaded work schedule, his family obligations, Cleo…but at the end of the day he hadn't been a good enough friend to Carter when he had the chance. Now all he could do was sit idly by, watching his friend, and pray that the higher powers gave him the opportunity to rectify that. 

Hearing a voice calling him from the front compartment, Benton glanced up, wondering how Mike was doing. It was not every day that the paramedics get attacked and forced off the highway. Standing up he took a couple of steps forward and slowly leaned on the metal separating the compartments.

"Hey Mike, How ya doing?"

Keeping his eyes forward the paramedic gave a brief, humourless chuckle before answering. 

"Not bad considering. How's Steve and your friend doing?" He questioned softly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel nervously. 

Benton had also examined Steve earlier and noted that his pulse was strong his pupils equal and reactive. They had secured his neck with a neck brace and bandaged his ribs. They could only hope that moving the paramedic from the driver's seat to the passenger seat had not done any serious damage.

"Steve's ok, got a strong pulse and his pupils are equal and reactive. We'll know for sure once we get to County and get a C.T and x-ray. Carter on the other hand…." The surgeon rubbed his tired eyes, wincing slightly when his hand brushed against the spot where he had banged his head earlier. He quickly gave a nervous glance back to Carter before returning his gaze to the road. "I just don't know. He's stable for now but I'd feel a whole lot better if he were at a hospital."

"I'm sorry I can't go faster but in this weather it's just too dangerous. Did you try the radio again?"

"Yeah. I tried everything from twisting the dials to hitting it. That's the extent of my knowledge on radios unfortunately." He shrugged and gave a heart-breaking sigh.

"I wish I had my cell phone with me but I left it back in my car"

The surgeon quickly gazed into the side mirrors before quietly asking Mike the question that had been weighing on his mind.

"You haven't seen any sign of the Porsche have you?"

Mike glanced at him nervously before answering. "Not yet. Do you think we will?"

"Let's hope not." 

With a last glance at the road in front of them, Benton checked on Steve again before resuming his position next to his friend.

"I bet you can't wait to get into a dry pair of clothes." Mike called from the driver's seat.

Benton smiled slightly as he glanced down at his damp clothes. With all the excitement he had forgotten that he too had been drenched. Chills still racked his body but the adrenaline from the earlier activities was still coursing through him.

"I'm kinda getting used to being wet."

"Well it won't be for long as we almost there. My guys at the station are never going to believe this." Mike turned to his friend sitting next to him and whispered softly. "That's why you have to be ok Steve. Who else is gonna back up my story?"

The shimmer of the ambulance bay lights never had appeared so welcoming to Benton before tonight. He had not fully appreciated this place until this evening. As the ambulance slowly pulled up Benton felt a slight diminish in the enormous weight that had been laden on his shoulders. His colleagues were in there, people who cared about Carter, people who understood and could share the feelings that had overcome him. 

------------------------------------------------------

At the ER reception Kerry Weaver stood glancing at the chart if front of her, making the odd note now and then. The bad weather appeared to be keeping everyone away from the ER so things were fairly quiet inside at the moment. She was praying it would last to the end of her shift. Glancing up at the clock above the board she realised she still had a few hours to go.

Signing off the chart, she was about to hand it to Haleh when a commotion at the ambulance bay doors made her glance up in surprise. Looking up she saw a paramedic burst through the doors and come running up to the desk.

"Hey we need some help out here! Got a hypothermic patient and an injured paramedic."

Kerry quickly limped around the desk and made her way to the doors. She felt confusion at the fact that a paramedic was injured and also why they had never radioed ahead to warn the ER. She was about to question the paramedic but he was already out the door. 

Spotting Mark leaving the doctor's lounge up ahead, she called out to let him know the situation.

"Mark we need you outside, an ambulance has just pulled up with two patients."

"Sure thing. Do we know the extent of their injuries?" He asked following Kerry outside and grabbing the ambulances rear door handles.

Kerry was about to reply when the paramedic called at them from the passenger door.

"Hey the paramedic's up front."

"Kerry you take that patient I'll grab the one in the back." Mark told her opening the door. Looking inside the doctor froze in astonishment.

"Oh My God, Peter?! What on earth happened?" Mark exclaimed, shocked at the surgeon's appearance and confused as to why he was accompanying a patient. "You look like you've been to hell and back!"

Benton glanced down dazed and saw that he did look bedraggled; his clothes were still damp and covered in mud, basically he looked a mess. He helped Mike unload Carter's gurney and stared hard at his friend before answering a waiting Mark.

"Believe me, I'm still there." The surgeon replied grimly.

Mark followed his colleague's concerned gaze to the patient and did a double take at the figure that lay there.

"Carter?!"

The last time the doctor had seen Carter was at the start of his shift as the younger doctor was leaving for home. He wondered what tragedy had occurred for his friend to return as a patient. 

As the team wheeled Carter inside the emergency room Benton rattled off Carter's vitals, his hands gripping the gurney bars so tightly they somehow turned an even paler shade of white. 

The trauma rooms slammed open as the group pushed the gurney inside. They gently transferred Carter onto another gurney and proceeded to check his vitals and hook him up to the monitors.

"We need some warm saline and a heating blanket. Get some heated O2 as well." Mark called out to Lydia. She wordlessly nodded in response.

"What's his temp?" Benton yelled to Haleh. She quickly checked the reading then announced "91.6." 

"Damn it. Let's get the warm fluids and O2 going."

The staff quickly cut Carter's shirt off and gave a unanimous gasp when they exposed the deep bruising on the doctor's chest.

"Oh my God." Whispered Haleh, tears forming in her eyes.

"C'mon people we need to focus." Mark ordered, conducting a closer examination of Carter's injuries. He quickly called out the various tests he wanted then glanced up at the surgeon, taking in the cut on his head. "Peter how long was he under?"

Upon receiving no answer he asked again more forcefully. " Peter how long?!"

"Uh…uh… I'm not sure…" Benton's voice faltered as the events of the night replayed in his head. "I think a few minutes." He replied, somewhat dazed, as he paused to stare at his friend. Swallowing hard at seeing Carter's chest in a more brightly lit area, Benton quickly grabbed the stethoscope that was hanging around Mark's neck and bent down to listen to Carter's laboured breathing.

"Peter we got it from here, go get changed you're soaked." Mark admonished. 

The surgeon either didn't here him or was blatantly ignoring him.

"Peter go, you are soaked." Mark ordered, raising his voice.

When Benton still did not respond Mark gave a quick glance to Haleh who nodded in response before grabbing Benton's arm and gently pulling him away from the gurney.

"C'mon Peter." She stated trying to pull him away.

"I'm fine!" He bellowed shrugging his arm from her grasp.

"Peter either go with Haleh now or I'll call Security, either way you're getting out of this room. Now go!" Mark ordered.

"C'mon. Catching hypothermia isn't going to do Carter any good is it now? We'll do a quick examination then I'll get you some scrubs and you can quickly change and come back and check on Carter, okay?"

Seeing he was outnumbered Benton heaved a deep sigh before reluctantly handing the stethoscope back to Mark and following Haleh out the Trauma room. 

Before Haleh pulled him away from the doorway Benton took a last glance at his friend and gave a silent prayer that this was only the end of Carter's ordeal and not the end for his friend itself. 


	10. Hide and Seek Part 10

I owe you guys a HUGE apology. I am so sorry for the lack of updates but my university work has been taking up nearly all of my time. All I can say is thank God for Easter holidays.

Anyway thank you so much for all the reviews and e-mails, I appreciate it so much. I still can't believe this is the tenth chapter!

Hope everyone has a great Easter!

Claire

Hide and Seek 

Part 10

Kerry exited Trauma 2 a little while later and saw Mark leaving the neighbouring Trauma room looking exactly how she felt; shocked, worried, confused, the list could go on. He was rubbing his neck and appeared absolutely exhausted, which was not really that surprising considering his shift finished some hours ago.

"Mark, how's he doing?" she quickly asked, falling into step with the male doctor.

He gave a deep sigh before answering. "Well we've got his temp up and there doesn't seem to be any internal bleeding. X-rays show some broken ribs. We'll be taking him upstairs shortly. How's the paramedic doing?"

"Ok. Slight concussion and some broken ribs. I just can't believe this happened."

"I know." 

"I'm gonna call upstairs see if there's a private room yet, they were going to do some shuffling for us."

Arriving at the admit desk Mark flopped himself down on one of the stools and picked up the phone. As she watched him dial the extension number Kerry's gaze wandered and fell on the figure of a policeman leaving the doctor's lounge. Without saying a word to Mark she quickly limped over to the lounge and peered inside, taking in the hunched figure sitting at the table. She looked down at her feet and took a deep breath before pushing the door quietly open. 

****

Charles Smith slowly turned off the car engine and stared transfixed at the house in front of him. Swallowing hard at the sight, he took in the darkness, the silence, and the overall emptiness of the place and felt his stomach churn. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to walk into his house and find it devoid of life. How had it come to this? He found it hard to believe that so much had changed in such a short period of time.

Taking a breath he exited the car and walked cautiously up to the front door. Smith took another careful glance around, making sure there was no one in sight, especially no cops. That doctor had probably got to the hospital by now and if he said anything Smith knew this place would be surrounded. After all his address was already at the hospital.

As he walked through the dark hallway his feelings tried to get the better of him and he knew that if he didn't leave soon he would eventually break down. Nothing in the house felt right anymore, and he quickly ran upstairs to grab what he had came for before racing off into the night.

****

"Peter, how are you?" Kerry asked softly. She could practically see the tension ebbing from the surgeon as he sat stiffly at the round table with his arms crossed in front of him. Quickly giving him the once over she observed that he had taken quite a blow to the head and had the stitches to prove it. The tattered and dirty clothes that he had arrived in had now been replaced with clean scrubs although the blanket Haleh must have provided him with was slung unceremoniously over the chair facing him. 

Glancing up at her anxiously, Kerry almost cringed at the emotions that were evident on the surgeon's face; fear, confusion and exhaustion were all on display and she prayed that the information she was about to give would provide him with some relief from his worries. 

"Carter's going be fine. His temperature has risen, he has some broken ribs, a concussion, and a lot of bruising but he's ok……thanks to you." She replied, ignoring the fact that he had not answered her question.

"Where is he? What about internal bleeding? I want to make sure……" Benton hastily shot up from his chair and made a start towards the door before being overcome with pain from his side. He gripped the area where the pain was coming from and felt anger at the fact that it was slowing him down.

Noticing him wince Kerry stood up and walked around the table, placing her hands on Benton's shoulders and gently pushing him back down into the seat. When the surgeon attempted to rise again she pressed firmly on his shoulder and looked him hard in the eye.

"Peter he's fine. He's in Trauma 1 while we wait for a private room to become free. He's still unconscious so why don't you use this time to get some rest?"

"I don't need rest, I'm fine." Benton shrugged her hand off his shoulder and stopped rubbing his side as if to prove it.

Seeing he wasn't going to move again soon Kerry sat down and paused for a moment before returning her gaze to the surgeon and asking the question that had been plaguing her since Carter had been brought in. 

"What on earth happened tonight Peter?"

Benton chuckled bitterly and focused on his hands as the traumatic events replayed in his head. 

"I've been sitting here trying to answer the very same question to the Police and I'll tell you what I told them, I have absolutely no idea. That probably sounds ridiculous seeing as how I was there but that's the truth. One minute I'm in the elevator going to the surgical floor the next I'm diving into Lake Michigan to pull Carter from a submerged van, and I have no clue why." He banged his fist on the table in frustration. "All I know is that some guy forced Carter into the back of a van and is trying to hurt him for some reason I am unaware of."

"Peter don't worry. I'm going to call Security now and have them place a guard outside Carter's room. The Police are here as well so there is nothing to worry about." She lowered her voice but it didn't change the firmness behind her words. "John's safe here."

"Has anyone spoken to his family yet?"

"No, I was going to do it after I had called Security." 

"Don't worry I'll call them."

Kerry was about to respond when a figure caught her eye through the window. Looking over Benton's head she saw a security guard approaching the admit desk.

"Peter I'll be right back, there's a guard at the desk."

****

Kerry quickly left the lounge and crutched over to the other side of the admit desk to catch up with the security guard. 

"Hey, we need you. We have a patient who needs supervision. Stay outside his room and make sure only authorised personnel enter ok? I'll show you where he is." Turing around Kerry was about to start walking when she took in his drenched appearance.

"Have you been outside? I was hoping it would have let up by now, is it still that bad?" She wanted to arrive home without looking like the human equivalent of a drowned rat.

"Oh yeah it's murder out there," the guard responded following Kerry to the Trauma rooms. "Maybe in here too." He added under his breath. 


	11. Hide and Seek Part 11

I can only repeatedly apologise and grovel on my knees for the huge lapse in chapters.  
  
I can't believe it has taken me so long to update but I've just graduated from university and have been working all summer so my free time has been in short supply.   
  
Anyway a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed and written to me about this fic. It means so much to me and is fully appreciated.  
  
This one's dedicated to you all.  
  
  
  
Hide and Seek  
  
Part 11  
  
Peter Benton stared hard at the cream coloured telephone positioned neatly in front of him as if will power alone could magically raise the receiver and perform the dreadful task that needed to be carried out. He had lost count of the numerous times he had picked up the receiver with shaking hands only to hastily return it a moment later in reluctant defeat.  
  
The surgeon shook his head in disbelief as he contemplated how many times he had had to do this, relay the awful news to a person that a relative or friend had been injured and describe their condition to them. He would admit that he wasn't skilled in the task, and it wasn't through lack of training or experience but rather a lack of what his mother would refer to as a gift. He had watched with inward pride at the ease with which Carter could make that connection with a patient's relative or friend and explain to them the severity of the situation whilst also comforting them in the process. Carter had this natural skill of getting on a level with relatives whilst Benton could only watch on the sidelines, wondering with a mixture of humility and envy how the hell he did it.   
  
But now Benton didn't have Carter there to help him, he was on his own. Now Benton not only had to get on that level with a patient's relative but also overcome the emotional hurdle that had appeared in the form of his friendship with Carter. This wasn't any patient he would be discussing, this was a friend. This wasn't a stranger he would be explaining the situation to but Carter's grandmother; a lady with whom he had spoken to and, in his only gruff way, had tried to comfort in the aftermath of the Valentine's Day incident. He didn't want to have to put the lady through this anguish again.  
  
With a clench of his jaw and a strong grip of the receiver Benton again dialled the now familiar sequence of numbers and awaited the dial tone. Listening to the ringing, the surgeon could feel his heart beating in almost sync with it and took a deep breath to try and steady his nerves. After what felt like an eternity but in reality a few seconds the telephone was finally picked up at the other end.   
  
"Uh hello, Mrs Carter? Hi this is Peter Benton at ......yes that's right I work at County with John ...... yes it has been a while ......Mrs Carter...... I'm very sorry to have to inform you of this but there's been a incident here at the hospital involving Car ...John."  
  
At the other end Millicent Carter clawed at the telephone cord and gripped it tightly, her hands turning a pale colour against the dark plastic. "Peter what has happened, is it serious?" The events of the previous February came flooding back to Millicent in heart wrenching detail. She prayed it was nothing as horrific as that night.  
  
"I'm sorry Mrs Carter but it is serious. To cut a long story short a patient's relative attacked John tonight. He was brought to County and we were able to stabilise him. In a short while he will be taken upstairs to the Intensive Care Unit and be placed under observation."  
  
"Is John going to be alright?"  
  
"I think so. Mainly it is a lot of bruising. He is suffering the after effects of hypothermia and has got a couple of broken ribs and a concussion but it is nothing life threatening." Anymore he wanted to add.  
  
"Thank you Dr Benton. As soon as my car is brought around I'll come straight to the hospital."  
  
"Your welcome Mrs Carter, I will see you shortly."  
  
As Benton replaced the receiver in its cradle with a sigh he chided himself for naively thinking that once they had gotten to hospital everything was going to be fine. He of all people should know that recovery is not just about receiving proper medical treatment and sending the patient on their way, that's why its called the recovery process.   
  
Taking a glance through the window opposite the surgeon stared hard at his colleagues busy working in the ER. When the ambulance had finally arrived at the hospital earlier that night he had seen the horror etched all over their faces as they struggled to deal with the crisis. He understood from experience the pain and anxiety of treating a friend or family member.  
  
Having stood at the trauma room door and watched the expressions on his colleagues faces as they worked feverishly to help Carter Benton knew a lot of the staff had been comparing tonight's events to Valentine's Day, including himself. He could only hope that Carter would not draw the same comparison. Benton didn't want his friend to go through the same traumatic experiences that he went through after February. Whatever happened he wasn't going to let Carter go through it alone like he did last time.  
  
Knowing that the only way he could help Carter was to talk about what happened Benton stood up from the table, determined to locate Kerry and find out exactly what occurred in the hospital earlier today.  
  
*****   
  
Kerry Weaver wearily stepped out of the crowded elevator and made a start towards the admit desk in deep contemplation. She had just come from an intense meeting with Romano and Anspaugh regarding today's events, and with Romano issuing his usual brand of interrogation to her; the female doctor was about ready to collapse.  
  
Both surgeons had demanded to know what had occurred in the ER today and Kerry for the second time in her career at County had felt inadequate at her job. She had little information to give to the surgeons about what had occurred in the ER because some of the staff had gone home after the incident and she had been unable to contact them. Without speaking to them or Carter directly she was making assumptions about the events, which both surgeons made more than clear wasn't acceptable.   
  
Sighing in frustration, Kerry was just about to grab a neighbouring chart with the hope that it would distract her when she heard her name being called. Glancing up she saw the head of Security walking over to speak to her so she carefully crutched round the desk to meet him.   
  
"Chris, what one earth happened to your face? Are you ok?" She queried concerned, taking in the bruising. She reached up intending to carefully tilt his face to side for a better look but he quickly swiped her hand away.   
  
"God, don't ask. Just a little staff retribution for being fired. I can't wait for this day to be over." He paused for a moment to avoid colliding with a neighbouring gurney. "I heard from Mark that you had a security issue earlier on in the ER. Anything I need to be aware of?"  
  
The female doctor waved her free hand dismissively. "No we got it covered thanks. One of your guys came down to help us. Have you had your face looked at?"  
  
"No but it's fine Kerry, really. I should have seen it coming, guess my reactions are not as quick as they used to be." He chucked grimly. "I tell you it's the worst part of my job redundancies. But what with the department cut backs I had no choice."  
  
Kerry nodded in understanding as she remembered all the times she had had to deal with the consequences of her department cutbacks. "I know, but it's not your fault Chris. You can only work with the resources that are available to you."  
  
"Yeah. I just feel bad because the guy had a mother to take care of who was quite sick......... anyway what was the incident earlier? I need to file a report about it, you know what it's like."  
  
Kerry paused for a few moments as she contemplated what had happened to her friend earlier. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not sure if you know him but John Carter, one of our ER doctor's, got attacked by a patient's relative today. The relative's still on the loose at the moment so that's why we needed one of your guys to watch Carter's room."  
  
Chris shook his head in disbelief. "Oh my God, is it serious?"  
  
"It was to begin with but he's stable now. We're just waiting for a private room to become available upstairs before we can send him up."  
  
"Well I hope he makes a quick recovery, give him my best will you."  
  
Kerry smiled in thanks. "Of course."  
  
"I had better speak to the guy watching him just to make sure he's clear on what's going on and when his shift ends." Chris paused taking a glance around at the neighbouring exam rooms. "Can you show me where he is?"   
  
  
  
"Yeah sure, he's in Exam 1." Kerry pointed in the direction of the room then slowly led Chris down the hallway. "We had a large trauma come in so unfortunately we had to move Carter out of the trauma room."  
  
As the two colleagues rounded the corner they were surprised to find an empty chair outside the Exam room and the door firmly shut. Kerry paused outside the door in trepidation knowing that there could be a hundred different innocent reasons why the security guard had left his post but her mind was only focusing on one serious one. Swallowing hard, she knew it was a ridiculous thought but having been on edge all day and with tension flowing from every pore she couldn't prevent the fear that gripped her.   
  
Grasping her crutch tightly with a sweaty hand she gave a worried look to Chris before hesitantly pushing the door open. As she slowly crutched inside the darkened room she froze in mid-step as she took in the sight before her.  
  
"Oh my God." 


	12. Hide and Seek Part 12

Oh my Lord, I am soooooooo sorry for the immense delay in chapters. It is just extremely hard to find any time nowadays to sit down and write. If there is anyone still reading this story thank you so much for your support and reviews and I apologise profusely for the wait. I am hoping to write the next chapter shortly. (Fingers crossed!!)  
  
Hide and Seek Part 12  
  
The silence was the first thing to hit her, and it was almost deafening. She comprehended the absurdity of that thought straightaway because how can a space devoid of noise create a sound so loud it causes her to cringe? The limited lighting provided by the hallway was casting an eerie glow to the room and it meant that Kerry had to squint slightly to see inside. She quickly scanned the whole room in a fit of desperation trying to convince herself that her eyes must be deceiving her. Why was the room empty? It didn't make any sense. Surely if something had happened then the guard would have alerted somebody.  
  
This is not like last time. They had taken precautions. They had not left him alone.  
  
She repeated the mantra over and over in her head, as she stood there frozen, unsure as to what to do. Somewhere deep at the back of her mind she understood that she should be doing something, anything at that moment but her body was unwilling to cooperate with that part of her brain. The hairs on the back of her neck were tingling with trepidation and all her muscles were fraught with tension as she took a second glance around the room.  
  
Swallowing hard to hydrate her throat, Kerry was about to attempt to call for help when the overhead lights suddenly kicked into action, lighting up the room so brightly that the doctor had to blink harshly at the change. It took her a moment to realise that Chris was still standing behind her. Her overloaded senses had forgotten that she hadn't entered the room alone and she felt relief flood through her when she realised she wasn't by herself. She turned to face him and, when faced with his obvious confusion, struggled to explain the situation.  
  
Chris took a step past her and glanced around the room in confusion, taking in the sight of the empty beds.  
  
"Kerry? What's going on? Has he been moved?"  
  
The doctor was at a lost for words. Could he have been moved? She had to admit it was an obvious possibility. But when she had left for her meeting earlier that evening she had been led to believe that it would be a good hour before Carter was moved due to a lack of private rooms.  
  
Surely if Carter had been moved then someone would have informed her. She had her pager, they knew she would be in Romano's office they could have left a message. She felt anger build inside her at the fact that no one at the desk had been bothered to inform her of Carter's room change. Did they not think she would be concerned? Being the ER chief as well as Carter's friend it was important to keep her up to date with matters such as this.  
  
Kerry turned back to face Chris, trying to rearrange her features into something vaguely like composure. "I'm sorry about this Chris. Carter must have been moved whilst I was upstairs. I need to go back to the desk and find out where he is. If he has gone upstairs then I'm sure that the guard will be with him. I'll locate him then you can go upstairs and speak to him."  
  
Kerry crutched quickly down the hallway to the admit desk feeling her anger build with every step. When she turned the corner and approached the desk she paused as she took in her colleagues standing there chatting. They were all acting like nothing had happened and it reminded her so much of the Valentine's Day party that she struggled to contain her anger. What were they thinking? A friend of theirs had been hurt and they were acting as if nothing had happened. She quickly moved towards the group, clamping her hand around her crutch with a vicious force.  
  
"Why am I not told of what's happening in my own ER? I make the decisions around here so why am I kept out of the loop? I came straight to the desk after my meeting upstairs so where was the update? Where was the message to tell me that Carter had been moved?" She stared hard at their faces trying to ascertain that there was no doubt they understood her anger.  
  
Taking a step closer to the board she grabbed at a random pen and used it to point to where Carter's name was written.  
  
"Why on earth is Carter's name still on the board if he is upstairs?"  
  
She could feel the shock and confusion ebbing from her colleagues but it felt good to let it out. She wanted to make it clear that there would never be a repeat performance of tonight. Yet as she concentrated on that thought she realised they had been a repeat performance, just not of the show in front of her. She recognised with subsiding anger that Carter had been hurt again because of an incident in the ER, and she hadn't been there again.  
  
She slowly began to understand that it was unfair of her to take it out on her colleagues. They had been here and helped their friend when he needed it. Seeing Carter hurt again must have affected all of his colleagues in some way and this is how they always dealt with it - together. Her problem was that she didn't want to keep reliving this feeling of lack of control. She was in charge, it was her responsibility to take care of her staff and not allow anything else to happen to them.  
  
When it came down to it she comprehended that she was angry because their actions were contributing to this feeling. If she wasn't informed of what was happening how could she protect them?  
  
Quickly turning around before she exacerbated the situation, Kerry grabbed at the nearest telephone in order to phone upstairs and find out exactly what was going on.  
  
***  
  
As he watched the night nurse inject a dose of morphine into Carter's catheter, Charles Smith struggled to contain his temper at the recent events. When he had arrived at the doctor's room downstairs earlier that evening he could not believe his luck at finding that there was no Security on the room. Plus there had been the added bonus of none of the department employees recognising him. Not that he had been surprised. Before he had been fired he had worked in the Psychiatric ward of the hospital and so he had little dealings with the ER.  
  
He was only grateful that he had thought ahead and made a detour to collect his work uniform so that he could blend in at the hospital.  
  
With such recent fortune Smith just could not believe the way things were now turning out. Why couldn't they have waited just a little longer to bring the doctor upstairs? He had overheard the nurses say that the morphine that they were giving him would knock him out for the night. As they had put it "make him comfortable." It had made his blood boil to hear them say that and he had almost lost his temper right there and then. Why should that doctor be made comfortable? He didn't deserve it. Plus it meant that he would have to wait until near morning before the doctor would be conscious enough to explain what had happened with his mother.  
  
"There you go Dr Carter. That will help with the pain."  
  
The sound of the nurse's voice brought Smith quickly back from his musing. Snapping his head up, he quickly stepped away from the door so the nurse could get past.  
  
"Would you like me to get you a chair seeing as how you will be here a while?" The young nurse asked politely.  
  
Smiling his thanks at her, Smith watched her retreating form until she was out of sight before returning his fiery gaze to the bed. Sooner or later he knew his recently acquired luck was going to run out, and when that time came he would never find out the truth.  
  
He glanced around the room then at the neighbouring hallway trying to think what to do. He needed a plan, fast.  
  
***  
  
"Ok thank you."  
  
As she replaced the phone into it's cradle Kerry tried to make her body feel the relief she knew she should be experiencing. Carter was fine and upstairs with a guard on his room, so why did she still feel a sense of worry? Maybe she should go check on Carter just to convince herself. She did need a break so she could go visit Carter then make a detour to the cafeteria.  
  
Placing her hand back into the handle of her crutch Kerry was about to leave the desk when she saw Benton approaching her. Whatever he wanted she knew it had to be serious from the intense look on his face.  
  
"Peter what's wrong?" She asked concerned.  
  
"Kerry do you have a minute?" He asked ignoring the man to her left.  
  
Kerry glanced at Chris for a moment before replying. "Well I was about to go upstairs and check on Carter."  
  
Chris waved his hand dismissively at her. "Kerry it's fine. I will go up now and check everything's ok and meet you up there."  
  
Kerry frowned, feeling like she was letting him down. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, not a problem. I'll see you up there." The head of security headed off towards the elevators before pausing for a moment and returning to the two doctors.  
  
"Say you didn't catch the guards name at all did you?"  
  
Kerry thought for a moment and realised the guard had never introduced himself. "No sorry Chris I didn't"  
  
Chris shrugged good-naturally before resuming his path to the elevator. "It's ok. I'll find out when I get up there."  
  
As Benton watched the retreating figure of the guard he wondered what he had been doing with Kerry. "Kerry is everything ok? Has something happened?"  
  
"Oh no, Chris just wanted to make sure that the security was adequate for Carter. And I just wanted to go upstairs and make sure Carter's ok for myself. I'm probably just being paranoid. I need some coffee anyway why don't we go to the lounge?"  
  
At Benton's nod of agreement Kerry made a start for the lounge. As she pushed the door open she wearily glanced at her watch and noting the time, realised that her shift had ended some time ago and that she had to be back on in a few hours. She would have laughed at the thought if she had had the energy.  
  
As the surgeon sat himself down in pretty much the same position he had been a few minutes ago Kerry crutched over to the counter to pour herself a cup of much needed coffee. She had been surviving on the dark liquid for most of the day and night and said a silent prayer that she had not come across any medical studies which reported that the human body could develop an immunity to caffeine.  
  
She turned slightly and raised the pot at Benton to see if he wanted any but he only shook his head in response and waited for her to sit down.  
  
"I heard you spoke to Romano earlier." Benton stated, breaking the silence between the two doctors.  
  
Kerry glanced at him questioningly before returning her gaze to her cup. "The ER grapevine is still as effective as ever."  
  
"Romano has been on my back about my absence from work today." He clenched his fists together tightly in anger as he thought back to the conversation with the Chief of Staff. "With all that has happened today that is the only thing he can focus on."  
  
"I wish that I could focus on something else. Kerry I've been going over and over what happened out there but I'm still none the wiser about what happened in here." Benton paused to glance hard at Kerry, hoping to receive the answers he so desperately craved.  
  
Kerry sighed deeply knowing what it was like to be kept out of the loop.  
  
"I spoke with Luka and Randi earlier. Apparently Carter treated a terminal cancer patient today who hadn't told her son that she had a DNR order. She died before her son could see her and he couldn't understand why we unable to do anything except make her comfortable. He took his anger and grief out on Carter"  
  
Benton could only shake his head in amazement as he pictured what Kerry was describing to him. "Unbelievable."  
  
"I know. I'm just glad that you were there. I dread to think what else this Smith character would have done to Carter if you hadn't have saved him. I'm going upstairs now to see him, why don't you go home and take a well-earned rest. Carter is going to be fine. Plus it wouldn't surprise me if Romano has signed you up for surgery tomorrow.  
  
Benton chuckled wearily at the thought. "Neither would I."  
  
Kerry gave him a tired but reassuring smile and patted his shoulder gently. "Peter go home, Carter's safe here." 


	13. Hide and Seek Chapter 13

Hi! I can't apologise enough for the unbelievably huge delay in chapters. I nearly died when I saw the date of my last update. If there is anyone who can actually remember this story thank you so much for your patience!

**Hide and Seek Chapter 13**

The rain was gradually starting to ease off as Smith stared pensively out the hospital room window at the sight below him. He gazed down at the cacophony occurring on the busy city streets below with a twisted sense of longing, his fascination ever growing as the people hurried about in an unorchestrated dance around one another. People were rushing from side to side balancing umbrellas with bags focusing intently on their destination; just a typical day for them, and it created a deep feeling of jealously that burned like fire inside his veins.

As he gazed transfixed it made Smith wonder what exactly had happened to his "normal" life that had existed less than a day ago? He sighed in deep contemplation trying desperately hard to remember what an average day had been like for him before his mother's death. He laughed bitterly realising that his tortured mind has now started classing his memories as simply "before death" and "after death." There seemed to be no in between, it was so annoyingly cut and dry, so simple; before and after, past and present.

Time had moved past his mothers death, the ER below had clearly moved past her death, and now, as he stared down at these people below, it was obvious to him that they weren't affected at all by what had happened. His mother had died yet it seemed the world had failed to notice, had yet to realise that someone so treasured, so beloved had left them. Everyone seemed to be racing round to help this damn doctor, so concerned about his wellbeing, but what about him? Did anyone seem interested in the fact that his mother had been left to die? Murdered in this very hospital.

All he got was a lousy sorry and some rubbish about his mother not wanting any heroic measures. His mother had never mentioned anything about it. The only thing that kept racing through his mind was that this doctor must have talked her into it.

_She would have wanted to see me; she would have hung on till I got there._

Something must have happened that he wasn't being told about and he swore that he would discover what, at any cost. He owed that at least to his mother. He wasn't going to let her death go unnoticed.

It was like a waking nightmare for him, with the awful images on constant repeat in his mind. He gripped the rail underneath the window tightly and took a deep breath in in an attempt to dispel the visions but was hit again by that same sickly, chemical smell. It was all around him; every time he took a breath he immersed himself in it. He had worked in this building for numerous years but this was the first time the smell was overwhelming his senses, almost choking him. It was like an unseen presence hovering in the air, taunting him, as if saying that every room he enters is clean, disinfected; that everything tangible of the occupant has been permanently erased. Any trace of the answers he desired were now tied up in the employees roaming the wards.

He ached to know what his mother had said before she died; how she had been. Was she scared? Was she distressed that he hadn't been by her side? Did she suffer? He had countless unanswered questions that were tearing him apart inside and the only person who could relieve this torment he was enduring was the very person who had created it. He had to talk with this doctor so he could fill in the blanks for him but until he woke up that was going to be impossible. There was also the ever present fact that there wasn't much time until the next shift started which meant the arrival of a new security guard. How was he going to be able to keep his eye on this doctor until he woke up if he wasn't allowed anywhere near him?

Sighing, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window, closing his eyes in relief as the low temperature appeased his heated skin. He started banging his head against the glass in frustration, wondering with growing apprehension what his next move should be. As various thoughts vied heatedly for his attention a sudden and unwelcome noise behind him brought him sharply out of reverie.

"What do you think you are doing?" Chris asked loudly as he stared at the security guard back in confusion. Standing in the doorway, he was trying hard to mentally picture tonight's schedule and work out which member of his department it was with his back to him. "Your job is to sit tight outside this door and keep an eye on the people visiting this unit, especially the people visiting this room, is that understood?"

Chris eyed the guard pointedly and he could feel his anger start to increase at the silence that was being directed at him. He wasn't used to this sort of behaviour from his staff and he had too much to deal with at the moment to add another temperamental employee to his already weighed down plate.

He shifted slightly in the doorway realising the situation wasn't about to be resolved as quickly as he would have liked. Clenching his jaw in irritation and sighing at the thought of all the other things he should be doing, Chris took a half hearted step into the room and slid the door quietly so that it was almost shut. Seeing as how the posture of the guard had yet to change he decided to try one more time to talk to him. _One more strike and you are gone. _

"As much as I value your dedication to the job I don't think this psycho is going to do an Indiana Jones through the window. The door ok?" Chris banged his hand firmly on the back of the door, shaking it slightly, to get the guard's attention. "That's your main concern, do you hear me?"

"Yeah." Smith muttered ominously, a veiled threat encompassed in the singular word.

Chris sighed in annoyance, placing his hands on his hips in growing anger. "Well I'd appreciate it if you turned round and said that to my face. I have just about had enough of having a conversation with your back. Now turn around and tell me you understand."

Smith clenched his fists tightly together feeling a large degree of satisfaction as they clicked in response. He raised his head slowly and as he stared coldly at his former boss's reflection in the glass he could feel his temper start to simmer just below the surface of his skin. His fingertips started to tingle, his breathing started to quicken. The short fuse he readily admitted to having was fast approaching the point of ignition.

"Yeah I understand that." Smith leisurely turned around and let his dark eyes rest on the younger man. "You know what I don't understand though _Mr Harrison_;" He slowly drawled out witheringly. "How the hell did I go all those years without kicking your ass?"

As he finally got to look at the man in front of him the colour quickly drained from Chris's stunned face. "Oh my God…..Smith…….what the hell are you doing here?" He spluttered struggling to contemplate what was happening. "You're….. fired; you don't work here any more." He glanced desperately around the room and hastily took a few staggered steps back towards the door, the streak of light emanating from the hallway providing a beacon to safety.

Smith chuckled snidely in response and took a few quick steps across the room. "Thanks for clearing that up."

Before Chris could react Smith quickly grabbed his former boss's shirt in anger and punched him hard in the face, knocking him out cold, his previous frustration asserting itself with the heavy blow.

As Chris crumpled into a heap in front of him Smith was overrun with the same feeling of satisfaction as when he had punched Chris earlier that day. Or was it yesterday? He shook his head in fury, trying hard to dispel the confusion. _Who cares when it was, it still felt as good._ There was no doubt, no remorse, just a desire to get back on track with what he had started. He knew other staff members would surely be on the way so it was time to move.

* * *

Sitting on the couch in the doctor's lounge Benton stared idly at the remaining dregs of coffee in his mug as he swirled them back and forth. Kerry had left him a few moments ago with a clear reminder to get himself some rest but he still hadn't worked up the energy to move. He was debating whether to just pass out on the couch he was sat on but he knew that the shift changes would occur soon and he wouldn't have much chance to get any decent sleep before the next shift arrived. He was hoping the caffeine would give him the necessary jolt to wake him up enough to drive home for a few hours.

The surgeon carefully placed the mug on the table next to him before pushing himself tiredly off the battered couch. His back ached in response to the unwelcome movement and Benton knew he would be paying dearly for tonight's activities.

Grabbing his coat off the chair he quietly made his way out the lounge and crossed the hallway to the elevators and was relieved when the doors quickly opened as if on cue. He dragged his tired feet inside and watched idly as the doors slid closed. His hand hovered over the garage button but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't will himself to push the button. His weary body was calling out to him to get to his car and get home to rest but his mind was firmly telling him to press the surgical floor button and check up on Carter. Kerry had made it clear that his place was now at home getting some much needed rest but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had seen for himself that Carter was safe. The seconds slowly ticked by and his hand moved up and down as if on its own accord whilst he deliberated on his destination.

With a deep sigh he pressed the 4th button down hard. Sleep be damned.

* * *

Smith quickly dragged the unconscious younger man to the empty gurney parallel to Carter's and with a grunt of concerted effort lifted Chris onto it before hurriedly draping the blankets over him. He didn't know how long he had before one of the nurses returned.

Glancing around the room in desperation he hastily ran through his viable options before deciding on a course of action. He quickly hurried over to the door and slowly stuck his head out the doorway, his whole body on edge at the thought of discovery. When he saw that the hallway was deserted he slid the rest of his body out the room and latched his eager eyes on the one item he had been hoping would be present. As his hands slid around the cool metal of the wheelchair handles he thought with relief that the first part of his plan was complete. Pushing the wheelchair speedily back in the direction of Carter's room, he could only hope that the next part went as well.

Tbc…..


	14. Chapter 14

I'm sorry again for the unbelievably huge delay in updating this story. Life has been sooooo hectic recently! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and e-mail me, it really is appreciated.

Hide and Seek Chapter 14

As soon as the elevator reached the 4th floor the heavy doors shook slightly as if in weary protest before sliding open to reveal the surgical floor. The judder startled Benton out of his reverie and he slowly lifted himself off the elevator wall with a sigh and made his way in the direction of Carter's private room.

The surgeon, though usually at ease in the familiar surgical environment, now felt a stirring of nervousness creep through him at the thought of facing Carter for the first time since his ordeal. Never a man big on communication anyway, he struggled to think of a conversation opener that wouldn't come across as weak or lame. Asking if the younger doctor was ok seemed so unsubstantial, so inappropriate when it was abundantly clear that Carter was far from ok, would be far from ok for some time until his physical and mental injuries had healed.

He knew when his former student was fully conscious he would be going over and over what had happened tonight in his head, struggling to find a reason for tonight's events. Knowing Carter he would probably find someway to blame himself, he seemed to have this complex where he would try to point the finger of responsibility in his direction, no matter what the circumstances. Benton knew how good a doctor Carter was, knew the skill he brought to his job. Yes he had never given him the praise he fully deserved but that was just the surgeon's style; he wasn't big on communication, he was more a do-er than a say-er. But whatever he had said or hadn't said in the past he knew that there was no way Carter could have made a mistake like this; he had followed the patient's wishes.

Benton absentmindedly rubbed his neck in deep procrastination, feeling guiltily unsure if he wanted his friend to be awake or not. He admitted to himself begrudgingly that he was desperate to ensure that Carter was ok and the younger doctor being conscious would provide him with some sort of relief from his worry. But he also knew that Carter might question him about tonight's activities and Benton's knowledge was sketchy at best. He couldn't even explain to his enquiring mind what had happened never mind Carter.

He took a fleeting glance around him as he strode down the familiar hallway. All was silent around him except for the odd nurse he passed along the way. When he had first started his surgical training he had hated the night shifts as they usually consisted of patient monitoring and little else. He had craved the fast pace of the day time hours with the more opportune moments for him to use his growing surgical skills. He had thrived on the possibilities the daytime brought.

But now, as he walked down this practically deserted hallway he realised he welcomed the moments of peace that came with the darkness. The silence brought a balance of calmness to his harried mind, and the tightness of his shoulders started to slowly dissipate as he felt a stirring of what could almost be described as home wash over him. The hospital had always been a safe haven for him, a place where he could feel secure and know his place. With each step down the hallway he had the growing sensation of a blanket of comfort being placed around his tired shoulders.

When he reached the hallway junction Benton moved to turn right to head in Carter's direction when he heard a familiar voice call his name from behind. He was about to turn around when a quiet noise ahead of him grabbed his attention. He knew from experience that the familiar squeak could only come from one of the hospital's old wheelchairs and natural curiosity made him want to discover who was using one so late at night. Leaning to the right he took a quick glance down either side of the hallway but all that greeted him was a silent, empty corridor.

He frowned in consternation, wondering if that bang on the head had affected him more than he thought when Kerry tugged at his sleeve from behind, making the already on edge surgeon jump in surprise.

"Peter, is everything ok?" The female doctor asked, struggling to see past the taller surgeon and at what had grabbed his attention.

"Uh yeah everything is fine." Benton replied, shaking his head as if to clear it. He took another quick glance down the hallway before turning round to face Kerry.

"I just wanted to let you know that I've spoken to Carter's doctor and he told me that he is doing well. Hopefully Carter will be transferred out of the ICU ward during the next day or two."

It felt to the surgeon like someone had suddenly come along and removed the enormous weight that had been pressing down on his shoulders. He could feel the tension start to ebb with the good news about Carter.

"That's great news Kerry. I'm sure Carter will be pleased. I'm just about to stick my head in his room, make sure everything is ok, and then get home for some much needed sleep." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Lord knows I need it now, did you want to join me?" Benton asked her, gesturing with his hand towards Carter's door.

"I would but unfortunately the ER never sleeps. I need to get back down there and make sure Malucci hasn't destroyed the place." Placing her hand around her crutch handle Kerry headed back towards the elevators. "See you soon Peter."

---------------------

Trying to calm his frantic breathing Smith took another slow, deep breath in before pulling the blinds apart slightly to have another desperate look at the hallway. He licked his dry lips in nervous contemplation, listening with bated breath to the conversation occurring only a few steps away from where he was standing.

He recognised the couple straightaway and he felt his chest tighten when he heard the man say he was headed for the room. Why were people so interested in this damn doctor?

He glanced desperately around the room for any kind of inspiration before resting his eyes on a nearby medical trolley. Smirking slightly at his find he quickly marched over to the trolley and began quietly hunting through the individual drawers until his hand landed on what he had been searching for.

----------------------

As soon as he had opened the door Benton found himself in a darkened room, which put him on edge straightaway. Even though it was night the nurses still kept the rooms dimly lit so they could carry out their duties without disturbing the patient. He squinted hard and used his right hand to feel for a light switch on the wall. Carter could yell at him all he wanted for waking him but Benton wouldn't feel reassured until he had a proper view of the room. His hand kept coming up empty so, cursing with frustration, he took a step further into the room and twisted himself slightly to try and make out the light switch.

When his hand finally landed on the familiar plastic Benton flicked the switch and with the illumination saw that Carter was indeed safe and fast asleep. A deep feeling of disappointment washed over the surgeon and, not wanting to wake his friend, he made to turn the light down when he suddenly heard a slight rustle behind him. He turned automatically toward the source of the sound and saw Smith coming toward him, hand in the air, clutching a scalpel with his face twisted tight in rage.

Benton surprise swiftly vanished and he quickly dodged Smith's swipe of the blade and used the man's momentum to throw him to the ground. As Smith landed hard and awkwardly on the floor his hand went to cushion the fall and the scalpel flew from his grasp in response, sliding from view underneath Carter's bed.

With his adrenalin numbing the pain Smith quickly resumed his fierce stance in front of the surgeon and flew at him again with a roar of anger, coming low at the surgeon this time. Benton responded slow and stumbled with the hefty force of Smith's blow, falling backwards hard onto Carter's bed. He slid to the floor with a grunt of pain and out of the corner of his eye saw Smith lumbering towards him again.

As he struggled to regain his balance Benton caught sight of the scalpel just out of his reach under the corner of the bed. Smith curiously followed the surgeon's gaze and with shock widening his eyes made a desperate grab for the instrument, just as Benton reached his arm across the floor.

The two men rolled around on the floor with limbs flying wildly over each other, each clambering desperately over the one scalpel. Benton had just made a second wild swipe for the scalpel when he heard a click followed by harsh illumination and he was faced with his deranged attacker, whose face was twisted in a fierce animal snarl. The surgeon had never seen a look of pure anger and hatred.

"Kerry! Quick get Security! Get anybody!"! He yelled frantically at the female doctor, relief flooding through him. Kerry's face was a picture of shock, amazed at the sight in front of her. She wordlessly nodded in response and gripped her crutch tightly as she stumbled back in the hallway to search for help.

Hoping that help was on its way Benton returned his attention back to Smith, praying the help would arrive soon.

"You son of a bitch, look what you've done. I had this all figured out and now you have ruined everything." Smith cried, pacing around the small room in frustration. He started muttering to himself, gripping the surgical instrument tightly in his hands. He could feel sweat starting to trickle down his temple and he swiped furiously at the liquid, annoyed at the distraction.

"I had it all figured out; I would get justice for my mother but now you…." He spat, swinging his large frame around to face Benton with accusation marring his twisted features. "….you have messed everything up!"

Smith raised his head and tensed his body, scalpel raised high, ready to pounce when the door swung open and two Security guards came flying through in quick succession.

Smith turned at the noise, distracted, and Benton took the opportunity and swiped quickly with a right hook that hit Smith's jaw hard. The older man went down hard and Benton leapt on him with a last burst of energy and grabbed the man's arms, twisting them so they were held tightly behind his back. Smith struggled desperately to get free but with the full force of the surgeon on him he couldn't manage to lift himself. He soon stilled his frantic movements when he saw the Security guards come running across the room at him. He could only stare despondently at the men as they dragged him off the floor and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

Benton watched with deep relief as Smith was taken from the room towards the elevator, struggling hard against the guards. He staggered slowly upwards, using theside of the medical trolleyto steady himself before making his way over to his friend.

The younger doctor was now awake and gasping for breath, but one look at those wide brown eyes, glassed over with fear, and Benton knew with a sickening feeling that this wasn't a result of recent events.

"Carter…..?" He asked, gripping the younger doctor shoulder in support.

"I… can't …breath." He wheezed, before the lack of oxygen caused darkness to consume him.


End file.
